Baseball

Baseball Cruises in Game One of Saturday Doubleheader

PORTLAND, Ore. -
The Santa Clara University baseball team defeated the University of Portland by a score of 18-0 in seven innings during game one of a Saturday doubleheader at Pilot Stadium in Portland, Ore. The game was cut short by mutual agreement by both coaches. The Broncos improve to 20-21 overall and 12-5 in West Coast Conference play while the Pilots fall to 8-28-1 overall and 4-12-1 in league action.

Santa Clara got on the board in the first inning with two runs on two hits, punctuated by a two-out RBI single to left field by Michael Lange, scoring Will Thompson from third. Thompson had reached on a double to left center field following Jim Wallace who reached on a fielding error. Wallace scored the first run of the game when Jason Matteucci grounded out to the first baseman, plating Wallace from third.

After Jack Headley led off the top of the third inning with a double down the left field line, he moved up to third base on a single down the right field line by A.J. LaBarbera. Headley scored the Broncos' third run of the game three batters later on a Michael Thompson sacrifice fly to center field. Matteucci picked up his second RBI of the game on the very next play as he singled up the middle, scoring LaBarbera from second base, giving SCU a 4-0 lead.

Ryan Chiarelli led off the fourth inning with his second walk of the game and advanced to third on a single to right center by Scott Dierks. The hit for Dierks extended his hitting streak to 18 games. Chiarelli scored on the next play as Headley picked up the RBI with a sacrifice fly to center field, increasing the Bronco lead up to 5-0.

Three more Santa Clara runs on three hits in the fifth inning gave the Broncos an 8-0 lead heading into the Pilot half of the fifth. Lange picked up a hit and scored a run in the inning while Chiarelli and Dierks each had RBI base hits. The hit for Chiarelli was his first in the game after drawing two walks in his previous at-bats.

10 runs on six hits extended the Bronco lead to 18-0 after the top half of the sixth inning. Michael Thompson had a pair of two-run doubles while Dierks provided the biggest blast of the inning, clubbing an opposite field grand slam home run over 370 sign in right center field.

The home run for Dierks was his 16th on the season, tying him for second place on the all-time single season home run list at Santa Clara. It is also the highest single season total for a Bronco since the 1997 season when catcher Paul Chiaffredo belted 16 home runs. Chiaffredo is now a catcher at the Triple-A level for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Joe Diefenderfer improved to 7-3 on the year after throwing six full innings in which he did not allow a run on only two hits while walking none and striking out four. The win also moved his league record to a perfect 5-0. Andrew Slorp threw the final inning in relief, inducing two groundouts and striking out one after giving up a leadoff single.

The same two teams will conclude the series with the second game of the Saturday doubleheader at Pilot Stadium.